Woman raped in church grounds while walking home from night out
A woman was raped in a church yard after she was attacked in the early hours while walking home from a night out.
The victim, aged in her 20s, was walking back from Oxford city centre when she was approached by a man.
She was then dragged into the grounds of St Clements Church and raped.
Police say the incident happened in Marston Road between 3am and 3.30am on Sunday.
Officers have launched an investigation and the woman is being supported by specially trained officers.
Cops believe the suspect and the victim were seen together outside Taylor’s estate agents in St Clements street before the incident.
Detective chief inspector James Horseman said members of the public who had left the Half Moon nightclub spoke to them both and that police are ‘particularly interested in talking to these people’.
DCI Horseman, of Thames Valley Police, said: ‘Prior to the offence taking place, we believe that the offender and victim were outside Taylor’s estate agents in St Clements Street and were spoken to by members of the public who had left the Half Moon nightclub.
“Were you in the vicinity of Marston Road and the entrance to St Clements Church between 3am and 3.30am?
‘Were you in the vicinity of the Half Moon nightclub in St Clements Street at around 3am this morning and did you witness an encounter between a male and female outside Taylor’s estate agents?’
He added: ‘I appreciate that this is likely to cause a great deal of concern to people, but I would like to reassure everybody that we are conducting a thorough investigation.
‘I’d also like to reassure people that we believe this was an isolated incident.
“I’d like to appeal to anyone who has any information or dash-cam footage which could be relevant to come forward at this time. Your information could be really important to our investigation.’
On Saturday, a woman was taken to hospital after she was allegedly raped in the street in London in the early hours of the morning.
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